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ANTH anthro notes
V
a newsletter for teachers
1995 )
vol. 3 no. 1 winter 1981
TEACHERS ATTEND 1980 A. A. A. MEETINGS
"The students we teach in high school are at a stage where they are particu-
larly idealistic, where 'it is the ideological potential of a society which
speaks most clearly to the adolescent who is so eager to be inspired by
worthwhile ways of life. ' (Erik Erickson, Identity , Youth and Crisis ,
p. 30.) In a world where the forces of human love and concern seem to be
in precarious balance with the forces of fratricide and chaos, we teachers
must 'bear personal witness to the reality of anthropology as a vital and
potent contemporary path to meaningful existence.' (Anthropology News-
letter , November 1980, p. 4.) In this way we make our lives and our courses
an inspiration to the young men and women we teach."
Richard Abell, "Teaching High School Anthropology"
For many teachers attending the
American Anthropological Association
symposium, "Teaching Anthropology to
Teachers and Students: Reaching a
Wider Audience", Dick Abell 's eloquent
description of his attempts to "neu-
tralize student ethnocentrism" provided
the highlight of the session, along
with Beatrice Kleppner's films showing
her high school students 1 fieldwork at
Plymouth Plantation and Prudence Is-
land. These twD presentations were
part of the symposium which over 80
area teachers and anthropologists
attended on Saturday morning, Decem-
ber 6 at the Washington Hilton. Many
teachers stayed through the day attend-
ing other sessions and browsing through
book displays. One teacher, Paula
deNobel, attended a particularly ani-
mated archeology session that was
scheduled for three hours but moved to
a nearby restaurant so that panelists
could continue to "argue with one an-
other. What an opportunity to hear well-
known anthropologists discuss their pro-
fession, all in a good humored if a bit
heated way. I wouldn't have missed it
for the world."
The morning symposium focused
primarily on pre-collegiate anthropology.
It included papers on the history, po-
tential, and present status of pre-
collegiate anthropology, and on teacher
training programs in New York State and
Washington, D.C. Four case studies were
presented by teachers working in high
school, college, and community center
settings. Papers from the session will
be edited and published through
the Anthropology Curriculum Project at
the University of Georgia. (Four papers
in unedited form are available: Richard
Abell 's "Teaching High School Anthropol-
ogy"; Ruth Selig's "Pre-Collegiate An-
thropology: History and Potential";
JoAnne Lanouette and Alison S. Brooks*
"The Anthropology for Teachers Program";
and Patricia Higgins 1 "Getting Anthro-
pology into the Secondary Social Studies
Classroom." These can be obtained from
Ann Kaupp, Department of Anthropology,
Stop 112, Smithsonian Institution,
Washington, D.C. 20560.
During the morning symposium on
teaching anthropology, a distinguished
British guest in the audience, Lady
Firth (Sir Raymond Firth's wife) de-
scribed efforts in Great Britain to en-
courage teacher education in anthropol-
ogy. As in America, anthropology is
not widely understood by teachers nor
has there been strong support from pro-
fessional anthropologists to encourage
anthropology teaching in schools. Lady
Firth, an anthropologist, a teacher of
teachers, and a long time supporter of
pre-collegiate anthropology, was most
interested in learning about the situa-
tion in America and spent a day at the
Smithsonian visiting the Anthropology
Resource Center for Teachers.
Following the symposium, Commit-
tee 3 (Teaching Anthropology, Thomas
Dynneson, Chair) of the Council of
Anthropology and Education (C.A.E.)
held a business meeting. The committee
elected a new Chair (Selig) and a new
Program Coordinator (Higgins) and
agreed to sponsor a program at the
1981 Los Angeles meetings. Anyone
interested in presenting a paper at
the 1981 symposium "Innovative Teach-
ing in Anthropology" please prepare
abstracts on the standard forms (see
the November 1980 issue of Anthropology
Newsletter) and send them to Professor
Patricia Higgins, Committee 3 Program
Coordinator, Department of Anthropology,
SUNY, Plattsburgh, New York 12901 by
"
March 1. The 1981 symposium will con-
cern the teaching of anthropology at
collegiate and pre-collegiate levels
and in formal and non-formal education-
al settings, interested practitioners
in all these areas are invited to con-
tact Prof. Higgins at 518-564-3003 to
discuss possible presentations.
Finally, at the Council on Anthro-
pology and Education Board of Directors
meeting in December, the Board unanimous-
ly passed a resolution offered by Marion
Rice, University of Georgia, supporting
teacher education. Discussion followed
concerning strategies to encourage more
anthropology in the pre-service and in-
service training of teachers. The re-
solution passed was stated as follows:
"Be it resolved, that the Council on
Anthropology and Education supports
efforts to 1) improve the teaching of
anthropological concepts and ideas in
the schools, either in a course in an-
thropology or in other Social Studies
courses, e.g., history, global education,
cultural studies, and 2) encourages the
inclusion of courses in anthropology in
teacher education programs at all levels.
Anyone interested in working with
Committee 3 towards the goals stated in
this resolution, please contact Ruth
Selig, Department of Anthropology,
Smithsonian Institution, Washington,
D.C. 20560; (202) 357-1592.